Former Commissioner says NBA should allow medical marijuana

Former NBA Commissioner David Stern believes it’s beyond time for the basketball league to remove marijuana from its list of banned substances.

“I’m now at the point where, personally, I think [marijuana] probably should be removed from the ban list,” Stern told former NBA player Al Harrington for a documentary he produced for Uninterrupted.

“I think there is universal agreement that marijuana for medical purposes should be completely legal.”

Harrington, who entered the league in 1998, says he began using medical marijuana after a botched knee surgery he had while playing for the Denver Nuggets. Harrington, 37, retired after 16 years and believes that “over 70 percent of athletes in major sports smoke marijuana.”

“I think it’s that big,” Harrington said. “Not only the players, but I think coaches consume, I think the owners consume. I think in sports it’s very prevalent and it’s right there.”

Sports Illustrated reports that Harrington enlisted Stern to speak about marijuana because “he was the commissioner during the roughest time for the NBA for drugs.” Stern, 75, was commissioner from 1984-2014. He says not only his views, but those of society have changed.

“I think we have to change the Collective Bargaining Agreement and let you do what is legal in your state. If marijuana is now in the process of being legalized, I think you should be allowed to do what’s legal in your state.”